Polymorphisms of the UCP2 gene are associated with body fat distribution and risk of abdominal obesity in Spanish population

Eur J Clin Invest 2011 Abstract Background  Increased accumulation of fat results from an imbalance between energy expenditure and intake, being modulated by different environmental and genetic factors. Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are mitochondrial carrier proteins able to spend energy generating heat. Therefore, variations in these genes are good candidates as potential modulators of body fat accumulation. Our aim was to investigate the possible association of genetic variations of the gene codifying the UCP2 protein with obesity and fat distribution. Design  We performed a cross-sectional study in 2367 individuals from two population-based studies from different regions of Spain. The Horte…